Erica Wheeler is a student at the University of Louisville where she is majoring in political science and minoring in Pan-African studies. Erica is passionate about studying and researching “politics and race,” particularly regarding Black and Latino communities. Recently, she completed an independent study on “Mass Incarceration in America,” where she discovered a pattern of contributing factors that led to the devastating increase. Erica is a Woodford R. Porter scholar whose scholastic performance has placed her on The Dean’s List . She works in the Office of Admissions as an admissions volunteer who introduces prospective high school students to the University of Louisville. Upon graduation, Erica plans to pursue a doctoral degree in political science where she plans to produce and publish research that will influence policy-makers and legislation impacting race and social justice in a career as a university professor.

About the RBSI ProgramThe RBSI is an annual, intensive five-week program held at Duke University. It is designed to introduce to the world of doctoral study in political science those undergraduate students from under-represented racial and ethnic groups or those interested in broadening participation in political science and pursuing scholarship on issues affecting under-represented groups. Participants in the RBSI are drawn from a competitive national applicant pool. The RBSI Selection Committee reviews applications and makes decisions during the month of February. The 2018 program be held from May 27 to June 28, 2018 at Duke University. Questions can be directed to Annalisa Dias-Mandoly at adiasmandoly@apsanet.org.